Broad Bean and Hearts of Palm Pizza

In Brazil, like many other places in the world, we are absolutely crazy about pizzas. It almost feels like pizza is a Brazilian dish! Pizza delivery shops are literally found on every corner of my beloved country. In the metropolis of São Paulo alone a staggering figure 1 million pizzas are consumed every day. There are approximately 5000 pizza shops over there meaning São Paulo is only behind New York City in number of shops. Our preference is for thin crust rather than thick and some of our favourite toppings are Calabresa (Italian-type of sausage) and Mozzarella, 4 cheese, Marguerita and Portuguesa (ham, olives, eggs, capsicum and mozzarella). Fondly nicknamed ‘a redonda’ (or round) the Brazilian pizza is more loaded with toppings than the Italian ones and we have a preference for wood-fired pizzas.

No wonder Italian food and pizzas are so popular all over the world. Pizzas are not only delicious to eat but also a joy to make. When it is pizza night here in our home, the atmosphere totally changes and it feels like we are being tele transported to an Italian canteen. I instantly turn on Funiculí Funiculá by Pavarotti to get the mood going. First is the smell of yeast that comes from the dough. Then the preparation of the tomato sauce, that spreads a fragrant combination of olive oil, garlic, tomato and basil all over the kitchen. If that wasn’t enough there is the smell of pizza baking in the oven. It is just too much temptation for the taste buds!

Furthermore pizza nights bring the family together, everyone enjoys getting involved with pizza making, specially the kids. My kids have so much fun kneading the dough and they love to scatter the toppings over the pizza. They also enjoy watching the pizzas change colour through the oven window and, of course, they love to eat them!

What are the secrets to a good pizza? Start with lots of love in the kitchen and get the family involved, ask for topping ideas, go shopping together, give everyone a task and switch on some music you love. Ideally take the time to prepare a home-made pizza dough or try to buy a good quality one. Like the Italians, use the freshest ingredients you have in hand, so there is 100% chance your pizza will taste amazing. I am lucky to have access of great produce here in Tasmania to make my pizzas, like tomatoes, herbs and cheese. The Australian extra-virgin olive oils are of the highest quality with some of the brands amongst the best in the world and that makes a great difference to the pizza. The choice of cheese is also very important: if your cheese is tasteless your pizza will end up bland.

Today Brazil meets Italy with my pizza dish, good old tomato sugo, mixed the flavours of broad bean paste, the South American hearts of palm and the French Port Salut cheese. The reason why I used Port Salut is that its flavour reminds me of a Brazilian soft cheese called Catupiry. In Brazil we use a lot of Catupiry in pizzas but unfortunately this cheese is not available in Australia. Both hearts of palm and Catupiry are available to North Americans from the Amazon.com website. If you can’t find either Catupiry or Port Salut, any mild soft cheese of your choice or even mozzarella is a good substitute.

This is a vegetarian dish and it can be easily changed to vegan by omitting the parmesan from the broad bean paste and the soft cheese. If you can’t find broad beans, they can be easily substituted by peas. Hearts of palm can be replaced by preserved artichokes.

I end this delightful post saying thank you for the Italians for the giving us the pizza and also throwing a few questions to my dear readers:

What is your favourite pizza?

Do you have an official pizza day/night at your home, if so, when is it?

*Hearts of palm are available online or from South American grocers. Artichoke serve as substitute

**Broad beans can be replaced by peas

Equipment

Pizza stone and cutter

Instructions

1. For the dough, pass flour, salt and sugar through a sieve. Make a well in the centre, pour the lukewarm water and stir to dissolve the yeast in the water. Add milk and oil, stirring to combine. Using your hands, mix for a few minutes until a dough forms.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured bench and knead for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky. Transfer dough to a bowl and lightly grease with olive oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to prove in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

3. Place a pizza stone in the oven and pre-heat the oven, fan-forced or high bake to 240oC. Divide dough into three portions, then roll into balls and place on a large tray dusted with flour. Pat some oil over the balls and cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to prove for a further 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

4. For the tomato sugo, heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add tomatoes, garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the water and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes or until the sauce is thick. Add basil and season with salt and freshly black pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool completely.

5. For the broad bean paste, in a food processor blend the broad beans (or peas), basil, parmesan, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice to a paste. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. To assemble the pizzas, transfer the balls to a flour-dusted surface, and roll them flat forming circular shapes. Remove pizza stone from oven, place one pizza base on top of the stone and quickly start to assemble. Top base with 1/3 of the sauce and spoon some broad bean paste. Scatter with hearts of palm and pieces of Port Salut cheese. Sprinkle with dried oregano. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until crust is slightly golden. Remove pizza from oven, scatter with extra basil leaves, and drizzle with olive oil to serve. Repeat with the other pizza bases.

O this is such a unique pizza. We cannot find heart of palm but thankfully you’ve mentioned about a substitute. Although I prefer thick crust pizza but if the topping is as delicious as this one, crust’s thickness doesn’t matter 🙂 Thanks for posting this lip smacking pizza 😀

GeorginaRibas

Thanks Shoshanna! What a pity you can’t find hearts of palm where you live, but it’s good there is a substitute! I am a foodie so I enjoy any type of pizza, but if I have to pick a thickness it would be thin, like most Brazilians!

anupama (MGGK)

Yes, you are absolutely right my dear! Every one is just so crazy about pizzas, and so do I. This pizza looks so delectable and intriguing. Would try this Brazilian-style pizza very soon. I just loved it! Super fun to make and even more fun to EAT! Thanks for this awesome share, Georgina! 🙂

GeorginaRibas

Thanks dear Anu, please let me know how it turns out 🙂

http://lslfun.blogspot.com Mira L

Such a gorgeous pizza ans I love the flavors! Pinned!

GeorginaRibas

Thanks so much Mira!

Ritu ahuja

Lovely pizza Georgina. I have become a big fan of Brazilian cuisine after checking out your blod my dear. I am gonna try out this yummy pizza soon. Love it. Super yummy. 🙂

GeorginaRibas

Thanks Ritu, I am happy to hear you enjoy my recipes 🙂

Joana Oliveira

Palmitos in a pizza! Great idea, Georgina! 😀

GeorginaRibas

Thanks Joana, in Brazil we like to put palmitos on everything 🙂

http://www.cookwithmanali.com/ Manali @ CookWithManali

The pizza looks gorgeous! Nothing beats homemade pizzas 🙂

GeorginaRibas

I agree Manali and thanks for stopping by 🙂

http://easybitesonline.com Anupama

Georgina, this pizza is amazing! Love the base, the topping everything. Pictures are always superb! We as a family enjoy thin crust very much and its mostly during the weekends when pizza delightfully enters the menu.Thank you for sharing this. I am very tempted to try it 🙂 pinning!

GeorginaRibas

Thanks so much dear Anu, happy to hear you like this one! Here in our house we are also fond of thin crust!

Nupur Mehra

I have to try this Georgina!! Broad beans paste sounds too good a thing to go into a Pizza, and am intrigued to check the taste out. Brazil-izza should we name it then? 🙂

GeorginaRibas

Thanks so much Nupur, you will love broad beans in your pizza. I really like the name you just created! I will make sure I mention it in my next Brazilian pizza creation 😉